1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device that is intended to be wholly or partly placed beneath a human body, the body of an animal, or an inanimate object which is wholly or partly lifted or raised from a substrate. The device comprises a hollow member made of a flexible material that is expanded by means of at least one medium, preferably a pressurized medium, to give the hollow member a certain shape.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Two different types of such lifting devices have previously been proposed, i.e., devices with a sleeve driven by compressed air and made from an elastic material and devices shaped as a pillow of elastic material which pillow is kept extended by means of compressed air and which is operable by means of an operating means. This operating means has an anchoring portion that is sealingly connected to two ends of the pillow which face each other. To perform a lifting action the devices of the first mentioned type require access to an assembly for compressed air which, however, is not required to operate the pillow shaped device. However, both devices have a primary disadvantage in that, at most, the extent of their travel corresponds to only a fraction of the total length of the device. In known devices operating with compressed air, the travel actually corresponds to half the total length of the device and in the pillow shaped devices this travel is only somewhat greater. As a result, the total length of the known devices may not be utilized for the lifting action but only a fraction thereof, is used.